Generational ship
thumb|''[[Wanderer (ship)|Wanderer, a generational ship launched in the 21st century.]]A '''generational ship' is a type of sub-light spacecraft launched for an extended voyage through space, usually for decades or centuries, and designed to provide life support and residence for generations of inhabitants. Specifics Generational ships were often used by cultures without warp drive as a type of colony ship in which the descendants of the original ship's personnel would arrive at their destination, rather than preserving the original crew in stasis. Most were built to accommodate a significant number of passengers. Some looked like spacecraft, while others were built within hollowed-out asteroids or planetoids. The term also encompassed some planetary refugee ships, as well as vessels unexpectedly displaced by spacial anomalies or with damaged propulsion systems. thumb|left|''[[Yonada'' had artificial gravity.]]Some generational ships produced artificial gravity. Yonada used collapsed matter to create gravity, whereas Wanderer and Betelgeusian argosy frigates generated gravity through rotation. ( ) In cases where many generations had passed since departure, the world-view of the inhabitants often became limited, as they'd not been exposed to the outdoors or sunlight, existed in confined spaces, and never had even the cultural stabilizer of seeing a home star, which often led to a perception that they were a unique entity in all of space. ( , , ) During the Sundering, a mass exodus of dissidents from to Romulus in the 4th century, the journey served to strengthen their resolve. ( }}) History In an alternate timeline, time travel regressed back to the year 2037, resulting it becoming a generational ship. T'Pol and Charles Tucker III had a child, Lorian, who grew up to become the vessel's CO. ( ) In 2368, the Krann Fleet of 163,247 cloaked Krann generational ships containing three billion colonists migrated towards the planet Nem Ma’ak Bratuna, ending a 6,000-year quest. The planet itself had been previously colonized by Lethanta generational asteroid ships. ( }}) In 2371, Kathryn Janeway discussed with Chakotay the possibility that would be forced to become a generational ship as they faced a 70-year journey back from the Delta Quadrant. ( }}) In 2372, a generational colony ship in the form of a planetoid was discovered in the Myalon Corridor, which Jake Sisko speculated was from M-31 or the Andromeda Galaxy. ( ) Generational ships Earth ships * Alamo (2100s) * Forty Families (2019) * Wanderer (21st century) Krann Fleet ships * JTO-52D (3600 BCE) * Krann Fleet flagship (3600 BCE) Romulan/Vulcan ships * Blacklight (4th century) * * * * Forge * Gorget * * Lost Road * * Pennon * Rea's Helm * Seleya * * * Starcatcher * Sunheart * Surani * T'Hie * * Others * Archernar IV (millions of years ago) * Betelgeusian Argosies (~ 20th century) * Epsilon Anubis generational ship (~ 20th century) * Irapina starships * Kelvan generational ships (20th century) * Lethanta asteroid ships * Lyra (Dyson sphere) * Rifas-L world ship * Sanoora world ships (500,000 BCE) * Sky Spirits generational ships (43,000 BCE) * Varro generational ship (c. 1970s) * Vedala asteroid homeship * Yonada (7500 BCE) Appendices Images LA9-Epsilon-Anubis-derelict2.jpg|Epsilon Anubis generational ship GK26-Rifas-planet-ship.jpg|Rifas-L world ship Sanoora-firing.jpg|Sanoora world ship Lyra.jpg|Interior of Lyra Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * }} * * }} * References * * }} * * * External links * * *Generation starships article at [http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]. Category:Spacecraft types